The headline “Pregnant Man Gives Birth” has long been misleading. Although transgender men have been giving birth to children for quite some time, it’s all somehow less impressive once we realize these men were born biologically female, and thus had all the necessary equipment already.
According to one researcher, however, the day is coming soon when people who were born biologically male will be able to carry a baby to term and give birth. “My guess is five, 10 years away, maybe sooner,” said Dr. Karine Chung. She’s the director of the fertility preservation program at the University of Southern California’s Keck School of Medicine.
Dr. Chung’s prediction comes after the announcement that the Cleveland Clinic is performing uterus transplant surgeries on women who were born without a womb, or who have a uterus that is diseased or impaired.
If the procedure works for women, it could theoretically work for men or transgender women. “Male and female anatomy is not that different,” said Chung. “Probably at some point, somebody will figure out how to make that work.”
The major hurdle to male uterine transplants involves recreating the intricate support systems found naturally in biological women. Still, Dr. Chung believes these obstacles will be overcome with further research.
Perhaps a bigger hurdle than the technology aspect of it all is the economic one. Transplants would be very expensive, especially when combined with the other treatments and therapies involved in transitioning to a male to a female.
“I’d bet just about every transgender person who is female will want to do it, if it were covered by insurance,” says Dr. Christine McGinn, a plastic surgeon.
Unfortunately, the road to affordable surgery for transgender individuals may be a long one, as the United States and other Western countries still struggle with acceptance of transgender people.
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